We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

It Starts With A Shaker​.​.​.

by James M Carson

supported by
Lord Andrew St John Whalley of Shurlach
Lord Andrew St John Whalley of Shurlach thumbnail
Lord Andrew St John Whalley of Shurlach Ahhh...where do you start...I'm sure Calico was played by Amir Mog on AllFM a couple of years ago...and again the other week...which led to my download of the album...I can see this being played over and over...every track is a great track...I thought I may play Calico on repeat but I just play the whole album on repeat... Favorite track: Better Off.
rosey1973
rosey1973 thumbnail
rosey1973 This album is a work of beauty. James’ voice is utterly alluring and musically the influence’s of Elliott Smith and Simon and Garfunkel can be felt throughout. Simply brilliant stuff. Favorite track: Calico.
/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £10 GBP  or more

     

1.
Oh Yeah? 04:18
Embrace love Be rid of the stuff that brings you pain Oh Yeah? Sound advice Considered it twice but I've been burned once before Yeah And if you hit the bottom Maybe you'll find a god Road kill Is better off still than abandoned pet Oh Yeah? War Path The aftermath revenge is sweet Oh Yeah? And if your eyes start drying Maybe you'll see the way And if you just start trying Maybe you'll cease the day Aaaaaaaaaah! War path The aftermath revenge is sweet Oh Yeah! Whats with those blues you're singing Don't let the world bring you down For every yang a yin and Maybe your time has come around? Maybe your time has come around? Maybe your time has come around? So embrace love Be rid of the stuff that brings you down Oh Yeah?
2.
Mmmm Mmmm Hanging from a single thread Clinging to the last shred Thoughts that flicker in my head That might sound strange to you But you don't know what I'm going through Conscience plays over everything if you let it You will doubt everything you do if you let it Thinking of a former life Magic was the final cut Tragic are the memories That might come back to you And you don't know if you want them to But you don't know what I'm going through I feel like I've been here before Just standing at that open door Afraid to take a step into familiar ground with you Because I know what we might run into Mmmmm Mmmmm
3.
Calico 03:03
Jesus, I'm no good in a fight I make a point Take it back Shrink away Like a dying light You call my bluff and I am thrown Now you're going off about all the time I've blown Just kicking back with my ego You're going to get in my head And I'm going to wrestle To restrain Every throw away comment You make You hate to say I told you so Nevertheless you'll say it just to tally up the score One million and 0 One million and 0 One million and 0 I don't want to open those gates Don't want to recall every word Every turn Every single mistake They're neither friends nor are they foe They're nothing to me but memories I banished long ago In hoods of calico In hoods of calico In hoods of calico In hoods of calico In hoods of calico
4.
It's not my place To laugh or condescend To influence your plans Or issue out demands But if I can't speak my mind What else can I do? And what chance now When even love and peace Have become a niche and happiness a lease That we neither can afford Or make time for We've come from different worlds And though we've tried something has died And I cant be forced to cry Often times We don't see wrong from right We cannot help but fight Long into the night Never manage to resolve When you live like that You grow to twisted shapes Just trying to escape The shadows and restraints Losing sight of what it was You set out for We've come from different worlds And though we've tried something has died And I cant be forced to cry You've talked so much And I've had my two cents But I'm still on the fence I fear the consequence Of repeating past mistakes So, what should I do? We've come from different worlds And though we've tried something has died And I cant be forced to cry Though we've tried something has died And I cant be forced to cry
5.
I never wanted to disappoint you So I didn't ever take a chance to All these things we could have talked through But I didn't want to But I didn't want to Cause anybody can become a burden A pest in a perfect garden You wanted just to tend to flowers But I didn't let you I just didn't let you I must have passed on a million chances Cause I was waiting for the perfect time To win you over with a declaration I would have written if I had a spine But I didn't want to disappoint you So I never gave myself the chance to And of my feelings you were spared too So I wouldn't hurt you So I would't hurt you Because I didn't want to Because I didn't want to
6.
Spin of the wheel So heavy handed And not really thinking it through I Have to confess I wasn't so happy I guess it turned out for the best Restoration Song I had you locked away for so long But once again I carry the tune And make you anew Back on my feet Picked up an old habit And so far it's working a treat I got through that phase It wasn't too pretty But time puts the past in its place Restoration Song I had you locked away for so long But once again I carry the tune And make you anew There where the clouds had once formed I see the sun But there's not a scar or a trace Where the damage was done Cause you learn to lose in love You can beg and steel and bluff But It will never be enough Restoration Song It's thanks to you that I'm moving on I take the tune Make you anew
7.
In the rising mist of morning On a ghostly island I took a walk to clear my head In the wake of former glory And faded beauty The opportunist strikes again It's on your pity I depend But I don't No I don't No I don't Play a hand For a moment I don't falter And I move with meaning I know my part, I play it well And as I lay my bag of bones Beneath the constellations I feel my heart begin to swell Familiar feelings in my gut It's a passing phase it's not a rut And if I can keep my cool for now I can stop this flame from burning out But I don't No I don't No I don't Take a chance Oooooooo Oooooooo Oooooooo In whispered words that made you blush That caused the spark that fuelled the rush Its in those secrets you can't bare It's in your sleep you dream to dare But you don't No you don't No you don't Understand
8.
You're stuck on a wheel Just chewing the cud The things that boil your blood Go at it till dawn Hammer and tongue Its really got you all fired up Its a bad scene, it's a bad scene you should go home Dream for personal cause A bevy of whores And endless see of empty want The pendulum swings At killing time, you'r the king And now your life is all fucked up If Its a bad trip, its a bad trip You should give up If its a bad scene, its a bad scene You should go home But don't come down from you tower If you're just going to feed the problem and cry about it. Brace yourself for a fall Crashing to earth Now tell me, how does that sound Pick up the parts and carry on as you are Where there's no feeling There's no pain If Its a bad trip, its a bad trip You should give up If Its a bad trip, its a bad trip You should give up If Its a bad trip, its a bad trip You should give up If Its a bad trip, its a bad trip You should give up If Its a bad trip, its a bad trip You should give up If Its a bad trip, its a bad trip You should give up If Its a bad trip, its a bad trip You should give up If it's a bad scene, its a bad scene you should go home
9.
Some only wear it on their skin You posses beauty deep within I've seen it glow When you're in full flow Some harbour envy so extreme They want to keep you from your dreams They'd like to be there When you're on your knees scared Conscious you're holding out for more Glimpsing what lurks behind my door Is nothing but shadows Debris in the shallows Just as my feelings start to show I learned a long long time ago How to disguise them In all manner of fashions Like a small bird so brittle boned Love is the pet we caged and owned But we had to let it go We should have known better Better See how your sympathies have grown Stretched by my endless spinning yarns Hard to decipher The fact of the matter Like a small bird so brittle boned Love is the pet we caged and owned But we had to let it go We had to let it go We had to let it go We should have known A long time ago We should have known better
10.
There's an atmosphere Lets make no bones about it Clearly we have danced around the truth For way too long There's a problem here It doesn't take clairvoyance Anyone with eyes can see There's something going wrong You've got some kind of hold over me And I can't do enough But something on my mind concerns me And I can't shake it off That a line was crossed And things might soon get rough It's an open door You have my ear, I'm waiting You can tell me anything And I will hear you out But it's a risky business Speaking candidly About your feelings Honesty can justify the doubts You've got some kind of hold over me And I can't do enough But something on my mind concerns me And I can't shake it off That a line was crossed And things might soon get rough Rough Ahhhhhh We took a lot to drink Which may have Magnified the situation But don't you dare Play this down It's real You've got some kind of hold over me And I can't do enough But something on my mind concerns me And I can't shake it off You've got some kind of hold over me And I can't do enough But something on my mind concerns me And I can't shake it off That a line was crossed And things might soon get rough That a line was crossed And things might soon get rough That a line was crossed A line was crossed A line was crossed With us
11.
A critics work is never done How cynical I have become Connecting words like chivalry With destiny and misery You see the world through different eyes You learn to spot the devils guise When the mask has slipped And the candles blown You stand apart You're on your own But when they're gone you count the days Love is just a turn of phrase Cut your nose to spite your face Disregard the commonplace Pull the rug from under you Something has to give but at what cost? A brighter blue you've never seen The sky that day was all for me Till the clouds rolled in with cruel intent Adding bitterness to my lament We see the world through different eyes You learn to spot the devils guise When the mask has slipped And the candles blown We stand apart You're on your own But when they're gone you count the days Love is just a turn of phrase To spite your face you cut your nose Isn't that the way this goes? Life replaying on a loop Something has to give but at what cost Guitar that goes on for ever and ever...
12.
I've been picking at bones On a banquet fit for thieves I've been digging for gold in the crawlspace 'Neath the boards I've inhabited darkness far too long to see The rosy fingers of dawns delight In the morning In the morning It's a lot to take in for the moment Give me chance To separate from the din All the noises that make any sense But in the meantime take it as I still care for you I'll let you know if my feelings change In the morning In the morning In the morning In the morning In the morning In the morning In the morning In the morning Let's take a walk on the hillsides Surrounding the embers of town Close enough to see home Far enough to be out of the crowd We can look at this whole thing With a rose tint point of view I'll be nursing this half full glass 'Till the morning 'Till the morning 'Till the morning 'Till the morning
13.
Better Off 04:56
Let this pass It's never worth the tears And we know they don't ever last But memories can haunt We should have known back then You and your tongue like dagger And I with my poison pen Have played to our strengths So let's give it time and just leave it be Who is the wrong we soon shall see You could win the hour but you might loose the day You're better off walking away Your cold stare Cuts through me into distances I never knew where there I'm privy to views That only you can paint A beautiful canvass you have protected So I won't taint And tar with my brush So let's give it time and just leave it be Who is the wrong we soon shall see You could win the hour but you might loose the day You're better off walking away You're casting out lines to reel me in Those obvious games are wearing thin You are not a god and I am not your thing To do with whatever you please So let's give it time and just leave it be Who is the wrong we soon shall see You could win the hour but you might loose the day You're better off walking away You're better off walking away You're better off walking away

credits

released July 17, 2021

Matty Croft, Andrew Glasford and James Carson (Production and Engineering) Dan Wiebe and Mat Peters (Drums) Pete Maher (Mastering) All songs written and performed by James M Carson. Vocals, guitars, bass, keys, percussion performed by James M Carson.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

James M Carson Manchester, UK

Not unlike music from the hills of 70s Laurel Canyon, Carson's songs evoke shadows of simpler times when the quest for melody was king. James has been influenced by the melodic melancholy and intimate lyricism of singer songwriters like Neil Young and Elliott Smith, but equally entranced by the power pop hooks of bands such as Teenage Fanclub as well as their grunge admirers, Nirvana. ... more

contact / help

Contact James M Carson

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like James M Carson, you may also like: